Stuffed toy



Aug. l2, 1969 v. DANBERG 3,460,236

STUFFED TOY Filed Sept. 17, 1965 INVENTOR Vmiro Y Donbevq BY um@ a wma-@mw ATTORNEYS U.S. 'CL 46-92 3 Claims ABSTRACT F THE DISCLOSURE A soft, durable, and readily washable stuffed toy covered by a cloth material and stuffed with polyethylene or polypropylene fiber.

This invention relates to stuffed articles and more particularlyV to oatable and washable stuffed toys.

At the present time the toy industry produces a wide assortment of stuffed toys, such as stuffed animals, clowns and the like, for children. Most of the toys now produced are classified as being both hand and machine washable. The toys presently on the market although washable, often lose their shape after washing and require a considerable amount of time to dry out. These toys have the inherent disadvantage of stiffness which ensues after washing. Generally, they are no longer soft and cuddly, as they were when they first came from the toy store. Furthermore, stuffed toys of the prior art have not been fioatable or suitable for using, if desired, as a scrub cloth or Washcloth while also being suitable for use as a toy.

Many of the present-day washable stuffed toys are filled with a kapok material which has shown a tendency to mildew. Furthermore, detergents and oils commonly utilized in washing kapok stuffed toys cause deterioration of the stuffing. Other toys commonly available today are stuffed with cotton, nylon, wool, fiax, silk, acetate and various viscous rayons. These stuffing materials act as wicks to draw in water and, therefore, remain damp for long periods even after the outside covering has dried.

Additionally, foam rubber and plastic foam are used in combination with other fibers to lighten the weight of the object but not to make a fioating or washable toy. By themselves, shredded foam stuffings are very bumpy and stiff and do not fill the stuffed toy to the desired plumpness. Therefore, the foams are mixed with fibers and lose any of their oating qualities. Even if they were used completely as the toy stuffing, they do not have effective drying properties and, therefore, take a considerable time to dry out.

In view of the foregoing, applicant has invented a new and improved stuffed toy which avoids the disadvantages of the prior art. This stuffed toy is floatable, machine washable and will not be affected deleteriously by detergents, soaps, bleaches, etc. Additionally, the stuffing fibers utilized will -dry quickly and will not lose their shape or become soft and deformed even when placed in a drier. Furthermore, the stuffed toy of this invention will not become mildewed, is not toxic, and will not support bacteria growth.

Accordingly, it is an object of this invention to provide a new and improved stuffed toy.

Another object of this invention is to provide a new and improved stuffed toy having an outer cover which is stuffed with a polymer fibrous material.

Another object of this invention is to provide a new and improved toy stuffed -with a polymer fibrous material having a specific gravity of less than l and which is selected from the class consisting of polypropylene and polyethylene fibrous material.

Still other objects and advantages of the invention will ice in part be obvious and will in part be apparent from the specification.

The invention accordingly comprises `an article of manufacture possessing the features, properties and relation of elements which will be exemplified in the article hereinafter described and the scope of the invention will be indicated in the claims.

For a fuller understanding of the nature and objects of the invention, reference is had to the following description taken in conjunction ywith the accompanying drawing, in which:

FIG. 1 is a side elevational view of a stuffed toy according to this invention; and

FIG. 2 is a Sectional view taken along line 2-2 of FIG. 1.

Referring to both FIGS. 1 and 2, the stuffed toy according to this invention is shown as a duck 10. The duck as shown in FIG. 2 includes an outside cloth covering 11 and an inside stuffing material 12. The outside covering material is preferably of a textile material which could range from terrycloth to a plush type of material associated with the furry type of toys. The stuffing material 12 according to this invention is selected from the class consisting of polypropylene filament fibers and polyethylene filament fibers. The preferred types of rilament fibers are materials shown as Revon (sold `by the Alamo Polymer Corporation of Spartansburg, S.C.), Herculon (sold by Hercules Powder Corporation), Avisco (sold by the American Viscose Corporation), and materials known in the trade as polypropylene rope fibers (sold by Du Pont and Grace). The preferred polypropylene and polyethylene filament fibers are chosen such that they have a specific gravity less than 1 and a density less than water.

An example of a polypropylene ber is disclosed on pages 189-191 of the textbook Organic Chemistry by Morrison and Boyd and published in 1959 by Allyn and Bacon of Boston, Mass. The above-mentioned pages of said textbook are incorporated -herein by reference hereto.

In order to form the stuffed animal of FIG. 1, the preferred polypropylene filament fiber is mechanically worked by machinery which either picks it, chops it, ga'rnetts it, or cuts it into portions of the desired dimensions suitable for stufiing. The toy is stuffed in the normal manner and the cover is then sewed to complete the toy. In this manner a fioatable toy is formed which utilizes as the stufiing a fibrous material having a specific gravity less than l. Additionally, a toy is formed which may be washed with detergents, soaps, or the like. Furthermore, the toy formed will dry quickly in either electric or gas driers. The stuffed toy is also suitable for use as a washcloth since the stuffing of the toy is of a low waterabsorbent material.

In testing the stuffed toy according to this invention, it has been determined that the toy -will float without any evidence of becoming water-logged. The stuffed toy also showed excellent qualities of stiffness which make it particularly suitable for Washing children in bathtubs, yet it retained its character of being soft and cuddly. Additionally, after usage, the toy dried out quickly, such that it was ready for use again by the child. Upon drying, the toy did not lose its shape or become soft and deformed.

It will thus be seen that the objects set forth above, among those made apparent from the preceding description are efciently attained and since certain changes may be made in the above article without departing from the spirit and scope of the invention, it is intended that all matter contained in the foregoing description or shown in the accompanying drawing shall be interpreted as illustrative and not in a limiting sense.

It is also to be understood that the following claims are intended to cover all the generic and specic features of the invention herein described and all statements of the scope of the invention which, as a matter of language, might be said to fall therebetween.

What is claimed is:

1. A soft, durable and readily washable stuffed toy, comprising an outside covering cloth material permeable to water and a polyoletin filament iibrous stuting material having a specilie gravity less than one covered by said `cloth material.

2. The stuffed toy of claim 1, wherein the polyolen filament brous material consists of polypropylene lilament bers.

3. The stuffed toy of claim 1, wherein the polyolein larnent fibrous material consists of polyethylene filament 15 bers.

References Cited UNITED STATES PATENTS Scott 46-158 X Liloia et al. 161-169 X Messinger 161-169X Mirando 46-156 X Schuler 46--158 Stastny.

Natta et al.

LOUIS G. MANCENE, Primary Examiner ROBERT F. CUTTING, Assistant Examiner 

